Welcome Well-Being: How Airlines and Airports Are Embracing Health and Wellness

Spa wars

Despite the recent news of American Express Centurion lounges phasing out spa spaces, airline flagship lounges are doubling down to create a point of difference, utilizing passenger well-being as a key customer experience advantage. First class lounges, such as those by Air France and Delta’s latest Delta One lounges in New York and Los Angeles, continue to introduce spa services.

Photo: Courtesy of Etihad

More recently, Etihad has partnered with concessionaire brand Be Relax to bring wellness experiences to the lounge complex in Abu Dhabi’s swanky new terminal. As airlines enhance their offerings, partner lounges face increasing pressure to create more space and improve services for waiting for guests, signaling an increasing divide between airline-owned and independent brands.

The trend does, however, mark a continued focus on luxury and relaxation for airlines, while Priority Pass data shows there’s now a 100 percent increase in independent airport spas, which would explain the recent wave of XpressSpa openings.

Healthy mind, healthy body

Remember when airports across the world were filled with fast-food chains offering quick and easy bites before a flight? While fast-food outlets have had to pivot to respond to our increasing hunger for healthy food, airports are fast-tracking their approach to holistic well-being.

Singapore Changi Terminal 2. Courtesy of Changi Airports

According to Mind UK’s research, 74 percent of travelers now consider mental well-being a crucial aspect of their overall travel experience, showcasing demand for tailored wellness programs in airports and on flights. This would explain why we’re already seeing a sharp increase in the number of well-being spaces in airports, such as quiet zones, sleeping pods, and privacy rooms for nursing and prayer. Some airports are going one step further with access to counselors, art galleries, and museums.

Airports are offering healthier food options, too, incorporating organic and plant-based eateries like Denver’s Root Down and LAX’s Real Food Daily. British Airways installed a micro-farm within New York-JFK Airport to provide fresh greens for its lounge guests.

Airport gym spaces

Workout spaces are on the rise in airports. Both San Francisco and Dallas Fort Worth have introduced yoga rooms and meditation spaces to help travellers relax pre-flight.

Photo: Courtesy of Doha Hamad International Airport

But it’s not just airports. Lounges are increasingly offering fitness spaces, too – The Club SFO lounge offers innovative wellness features, including bespoke fitness mirrors and unique Luminescence rooms with adjustable color, temperature, and lighting.

WithU is with us

For business travellers on the go, the WithU app is a must-have. Offering on-demand audio workouts across various fitness levels and styles, it’s perfect for staying fit anywhere.

Photo: Courtesy of PeopleImages

Whether you’re in a hotel room or a park, WithU’s easy-to-follow instructions and offline capabilities ensure you never miss a workout. Tailored routines, from yoga to HIIT, make it our editor’s pick for fitness on the go.

Top five airports for wellness

• Doha International Airport: Enjoy Sleep ’n Fly lounges (accessible with a Priority Pass membership), a gym, a swimming pool, squash courts, art exhibitions, and golf simulators.
• Tokyo Narita Terminal 3: Designed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the entire terminal features an Olympic-style running track for passengers to relive their inner Chariots of Fire moment.
• Amsterdam Schiphol Airport: Amsterdam’s international airport features plenty of amenities – from museums to a free baby-care lounge. It’s possible to spend an entire day here with ease.
• Singapore Changi Airport: Find butterfly gardens, outdoor spaces including a rooftop pool, paid lounges for shower facilities, nail care, reflexology and massage therapies.
• Samui International Airport: If being to nature is your thing, there’s nothing better than this outdoor airport featuring tiki buses and free snacks and drinks for departing passengers.

Photo: Tokyo Narita Terminal 3. Courtesy of Kenta Hasegawa

Well-being travel by the numbers

• US $1.3trillion: The value of the wellness tourism market by 2025, as cited by Global Wellness Institute
• 50 percent of travelers would like to address their physical or mental wellness while traveling, as cited by Hilton
• 76 percent of people believe that switching off from everyday life could significantly benefit their overall well-being during their travels, as cited by Priority Pass Global Research